Stock market today: Gift Nifty up 40 points; key levels for Nifty, Sensex & Nifty Bank

Indian equity benchmark indices are set for a positive opening on Tuesday, ahead of monthly expiry of October series. Traders will keenly await the US Fed's policy meeting, which kicks off today along with the trade deal developments. India Inc's Q2 earnings and FIIs outflows shall also be in focus for the day.

Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 40 points, or 0.16 per cent, up at 26,053.50, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Tuesday. Asian shares consolidated recent hefty gains on Tuesday. KOSPI was down a per cent, while Hang Seng and Nikkei saw mild profit booking.

Wall Street's main indexes posted record closing highs for the second day in a row on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 337.47 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 47,544.59. The S&P 500 advanced 83.47 points, or 1.23 per cent, to 6,875.16 for its first close above the 6,800 level. The Nasdaq Composite gained 432.59 points, or 1.86 per cent, at 23,637.46.

The dollar was weaker on Tuesday ahead of a slate of central bank meetings that will likely see a rate cut in the US. The dollar index was steady at 98.786 in early Asian hours, having eased 0.15 per cent in the previous session. Meanwhile, safe-haven gold huddled around $4,000 an ounce, as a drop of 9 per cent in five sessions squeezed leveraged money out of a very crowded trade.

In commodity markets, oil prices slipped on a Reuters report that eight OPEC+ nations are leaning towards making another modest increase in oil output for December when they meet on Sunday, as Saudi Arabia pushes to reclaim market share. Brent dropped 0.2 per cent to $65.46 a barrel, while US crude eased 0.2 per cent to $61.17 per barrel.

The up move is largely driven by easing trade tensions between the US and China and growing optimism over a potential trade deal, which could alleviate global growth concerns, said Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking. "We maintain our positive stance and suggest focusing on buying opportunities during dips," he said.

Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 55.58 crore on Monday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 2,492.12 crore on a net-net basis.
 

Nifty50 & Sensex outlook

25,900/84,500 would act as an immediate support zone. As long as the market trades above this level, the bullish sentiment is likely to continue, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities. "On the higher side, it could retest the levels of 26,100-26,150/85,000-85,300. On the flip side, below 24,900/84500, we could see a quick intraday correction down to 25,800-25,750/84,200-84,000."

A decisive move above the recent swing high of 26,104 would negate the possible bearish implications of 'shooting star' candlestick pattern formed on the weekly chart, said Nandish Shah, Deputy Vice President at HDFC Securities. "Above 26104, Nifty could move towards an all time high of 26277 and go beyond. On the downside, support is expected around the 25,700 level," he said.
 

Nifty Bank outlook

Nifty Bank took support near the recent breakout point and formed a bullish candle, reflecting strength. On the downside, immediate support for Bank Nifty is placed near 57,480, while the major hurdle is positioned around 58,580. Short-term traders are advised to buy near support and book profits near the resistance levels, said Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivative Research of Asit C Mehta Investment Interrmediates.

Nifty Bank has immediate supports placed at 57,300-57500 levels being the last week breakout area and a stronger demand zone is seen near 56,800-56,500 levels, said Bajaj Broking. "The daily stochastic signaling consolidation likely in the coming sessions. We believe the current breather should be used as a buying opportunity in quality banking stocks," he said.